Panning ban in North Wales link to news item

Hiya,  Been away prospecting myself and come back with some lovely finds.  I am so pleased to hear we now have ONE panner with official recognition in Wales.  Is this the start of something good??  I do hope so.  How can I become the second panner with official recognition?  I want to be out there now that there is someone on the water again.  Lovely weather - hope you are enjoying it?  Has there been much damage to the water course this year due to the heavy snow?  I have stayed away due to the ban.  Off again prospecting again soon but will keep in touch.

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The Crown Agents have confirmed today that they have now passed my queries about the relevant legislation on river gold to the Crown Estate. Their lawyers may take some time to respond. However, it is my position that the Crown Prerogative only applies to gold and silver ores from mines.
It is also clear that forestry officers have been acting illegally when they have acted in the name of the Crown, demanding to see panning licences and booting members of the public off access land. Now, a few leading BGA members tried to undermine my campaign on behalf of all leisure panners, but many BGA members and independent panners were supporting me. I am very grateful to this forum for the opportunity to get discussions going. Information is power, and I believe that information should be shared freely. Power to Panners!
There are many areas in Wales which are not affected by the misleading signs, which are only on parts of the Mawddach and Wen. The Environment Agency confirmed that there was no ban on panning as such. The signs would be more helpful if they stated that panners should be careful not to cause any damage, such as bank digging or working in teams, which could possibly lead to fish fry kills in extreme circumstances, such as shoals in stranded pools during low water. After the false stories about endangered mussels, otters etc, were debunked, salmon and trout are the only issues now. I have asked CCW to provide more detailed information to the public about the location of fish spawning areas and other scientific data.
It puzzles me why the BGA spread the misleading rumour that panning was banned in the whole of Wales. As I was blamed for a ban which didn't actually happen, I am expecting an apology from BGA.
CCW has now reluctantly accepted that panning can actually be beneficial to fish, for instance, clean gravels from sluices in the Spring and Summer can be used for spawning redds in the Autumn and Winter. I carried out a week long demonstration for the authorities on the Wen, in the face of threats of ?30,000 fines just for standing in the water with a pan, and they had to back down. They have also now agreed to remove a large tree bole which is creating a forced pool reach and which could demolish the Wen bridge in the event of another flood event.
So, ignore the stories of doom from the BGA, it is safe to return to Wales, for leisure panning. But the authorities agree that commercial panning courses are unlawful, not only in Wales, but in Scotland and England too. The BGA should now distance itself from these unlawful activities. There are plenty of decent minded panners who will show newcomers the ropes for free. Although I am a relative 'greenhorn', this isn't rocket science, and I have learned a lot in a few years from some lovely old timers.
I will keep you all posted.
Brian Wright   Gold Rivers Trust



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Hello All

You mentioned it is not allowed to dig away river banks, fair enough.

Just for clarification. what can you do? Can you use hand crevice tools in the bed of the river, hand pump out potholes in river bead, use water fed sluices? What are the parameters of what you can do? Are you just allowed a gold pan?

Do you need a fossiking permit or license? Are some rivers off limits or affected by certain fish spawning seasons?

All of the above was allowed in N.S.W Australia providing no power generated tool used such as dredges or heavy mining equipment.

I am interested to see what is actually allowed.

Hardluck

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		Quote:			Posted by May Flint
	Welcome back Brian and I can see you have been doing lots of research and looking into the sites we can use. How about I get a group of 20 to come down this weekend and join in?

Are you kidding? CCW/FC/EA finally decided to put up the signs because the BGA applied to hold such a group event. Individual recreational panning is ok, as long as you know how not to put a lot of silt into the watercourse. I can't stop  you bringing a group down, but it would be very risky at present. The EA are conducting water and ecology studies on the Wen, after I forced them to face the issues. CCW have agreed that it would be impossible to measure the activities of one panner, in the way that I work, with a silt settling pool. However, you will have no control over the methods of the other members in the group, and if they dig willy nilly and there is a fish fry kill downstream, everyone on the river will get collared. The EA releases fry into the Wen at the Hermon bridge at this time of year, so there is a real risk of a mass kill at low water if people dig into banks or in the toxic area below the bridge, or in deep hardpack for an extended period. Now, I am absolutley confident that my method is safe, and I work within official charitable guidelines. But groups are not insurable for this kind of activity, and a group organisor could find himself or herself liable.
I have now left the Wen and am working in a non SSSI river, far away, having made my point. The Mawddach is another story, there are non-SSSI sections, but there has been massive pollution from the mines, the sludgy water builds up and is released by the EA, turning the river bright orange. Go into the Mawddach at risk of unknown health consequences. Taking groups in there could be quite irresponsible. I am prospecting other sites with a view to providing safer panning opportunities.


Posted on: March 11, 2011, 07:46:07 AM

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		Quote:			Posted by hardluck
	Hello All You mentioned it is not allowed to dig away river banks, fair enough. Just for clarification. what can you do? Can you use hand crevice tools in the bed of the river, hand pump out potholes in river bead, use water fed sluices? What are the parameters of what you can do? Are you just allowed a gold pan? Do you need a fossiking permit or license? Are some rivers off limits or affected by certain fish spawning seasons? All of the above was allowed in N.S.W Australia providing no power generated tool used such as dredges or heavy mining equipment. I am interested to see what is actually allowed. Hi Hardluck I advised CCW that it is not the tools used but the method which is most important. They wanted BGA to enforce a pan and trowel only policy, no sluices or crowbars etc. Basically, they don't want any boulders moved by human activity, as if the river will comply by not having any spates or floods. I argued that keeping the locked up boulders moving is good for fish, as they need clean gravels, and less obstructions in the rivercourse. But they are still getting to grips with the fact that they have acted in ignorance of the real benefits which panning and sluicing can bring to the ecology of the area. So, there are no restrictions on tools as such, just opposing individual viewpoints, which isn't law at all. Each panner has to make his or her own risk assessment, which should include how to deal with irate forestry officers and just a few local panners who have a very negative attitude to outsiders. I'd be happy to meet with anyone who wants to come down to the Coed-y-Brenin and discuss these issues. I'll be around for the next week, so keep an eye out for my ford transit campervan, with a red stripe around the middle, and say hello. I won't be back to the library until next week. I can show anyone some safe rivers to pan, no SSSI or other political issues. Brian  Gold Rivers Trust  'Safer Panning for People and Ecology' Hardluck

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Thanks for the information Brian.

As it is taking us over 6 hours to get to you we are on the move as I type.

See you soon

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